Sawako Kato, better known simply as Sawako, is a Tokyo/NYC-based sound artist who treads the border between music and everyday sounds.  Her music is a result of processing sounds from everyday life - field recordings, instruments, voices, and electronic sounds - although its sources ensure that a strong organic vibe remains.  After releasing several hard to find records on her own and with collaborators, Sawako hooked up with Taylor Deupree and 12k records, which has also released records...

Sawako Kato, better known simply as Sawako, is a Tokyo/NYC-based sound artist who treads the border between music and everyday sounds.  Her music is a result of processing sounds from everyday life - field recordings, instruments, voices, and electronic sounds - although its sources ensure that a strong organic vibe remains.  After releasing several hard to find records on her own and with collaborators, Sawako hooked up with Taylor Deupree and 12k records, which has also released records by Gutevolk, Piana, and several other artists working in similar veins, and released Hum in 2005 while working on a degree at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications graduate program.  While more melody based and linear than some of her previous work, it remained along the lines of ambient pioneer Brian Eno's concept of "incidental music", with minimal use of beats or other elements that would limit possible interpretations by the listener.  She followed with Madoromi (on the Anticipate label) in 2007, and then released Bitter Sweet in 2008, again on 12k, both pushing forward in the same vein as Hum.  In addition to these releases, Sawako's music can be found on a slew of collaborations and compilations from a wide range of labels.